Covering the Angels and baseball in general for MLB.com. E-mail me at Alden.Gonzalez@mlb.com and follow on Twitter @Alden_Gonzalez.

Results tagged ‘ Kole Calhoun ’

Albert Pujols has never really had a bad Spring Training. He’s hit at least .286 and as high as .407 over the last 10 years, because he always shows up in shape and it never takes him long to find his timing.

He just seems, well, different this spring.

More specifically, his legs look healthier than they have in the last three years.

Pujols entered Spring Training 2013 recovering from offseason surgery to his right knee, then suffered plantar fasciitis around the middle of camp, a condition that didn’t allow him to play past July of that season. That was followed by a prolonged offseason that allowed Pujols to get healthy, but the Angels’ first baseman wasn’t able to strengthen his right knee like he wanted to until this past winter.

Now, it seems, he has a strong foundation at the plate again.

“You could tell the difference when you’re in good health, and he is right now,” Angels shortstop Erick Aybar said.

“He looks strong right now,” third baseman David Freese added. “His lower half looks strong; as strong as I’ve seen it over the last few years, watching him and obviously seeing it in person. I think he’s taking care of himself.”

Pujols entered Friday’s game batting .326 (14-for-43) with four home runs in Cactus League play. All of those homers have come over his last six games, with the latest coming Thursday, a towering shot to left-center-field on a high-and-inside fastball from Cubs reliever Jason Motte.

But the 35-year-old has been driving the ball to the opposite field all spring, an indication that his right leg is feeling better and a positive sign considering he was shifted on more than any right-handed hitter in baseball last year.

“I think he’s found ways to manage what’s been bothering him with the experience of going through it,” Angels manager Mike Scioscia said. “He’s certainly in great shape and he’s moving well.”

Some additional notes from Friday …

Freese, who suffered a hyperextended left elbow on Tuesday, took batting practice and did some defensive work in the morning. He’s expected to return to the lineup on Saturday.

Marc Krauss, out since Sunday with back spasms, was expected to play later in Friday’s game.

Kole Calhoun, who exited Thursday’s game after taking a fastball to his right triceps muscle, played catch but stayed away from hitting. The Angels’ right fielder is expected to return to the lineup this weekend.

Drew Rucinski was slated to pitch in a Minor League game on Friday, throwing five innings and 75 pitches.

Mark Trumbo is in the lineup for the D-backs, marking the first time ever that he’ll face the Angels.

The Angels are still stretching Jose Alvarez out as a starter, but not to the point where he’ll be throwing 100-plus pitches. They want to give him enough length to potentially serve as starting-pitching depth, but Alvarez is also in the running for a bullpen spot. “With he, with Rucinski, with some of the swing guys, you have to find a balance,” Scioscia said. “… You want them to get enough length to be depth in your rotation but still maintain their stuff to where you can have them in your bullpen. He’s on the depth chart in two spots.”

C.J. Wilson was supposed to start today, but he tweaked his left knee during a PFP drill and decided to take some time off. The Angels’ left-hander got a precautionary MRI that checked out fine. He’s slated to throw a bullpen session on Saturday and then take his next turn on Tuesday.

Newcomb won’t pitch that much. He’ll throw the first inning, then perhaps face a batter or two in the second. The 21-year-old left-hander, drafted 15th overall last June, will get stretched out in Minor League camp later in spring.

Matt Lindstrom, Cesar Ramos, Ryan Mattheus and Frank Herrmann are among those also slated to pitch.

Garrett Richards is tentatively slated to pitch in another two-inning simulated game over the weekend, this time with pitchers’ fielding practice mixed in, and then he’ll be ready to pitch in his first Cactus League game perhaps middle or late next week. Mike Scioscia said he’ll probably only just throw one inning in his first game. “Some parts of it he’s moving into more of a Spring Training environment, but that part of it is definitely something you want to watch closely,” Scioscia said.

Huston Street is back with the team after getting sick right before game time Tuesday and staying in his room on Wednesday. He’ll throw a bullpen session on Saturday and expects to pitch in a game on Sunday.

Joe Smith has yet to appear in his first Spring Training game because of lower leg stiffness. He said if it were the regular season, he would’ve only missed a couple days. “It’s just one of those things early in spring, they just wanted me out there with nothing,” Smith said. He should pitch in the next couple days. He’s got plenty of time to be ready for the season. “I think I’m still loose from last year.”

The overwhelming favorite Will Ferrell movie in the Angels clubhouse is “Step Brothers.” Calhoun said he watched it three times in theaters, twice on DVD. “It’s one of those movies that get funnier every time you watch it.” Most of the guys were bummed that they may not get much time with him, since he’s hitting up five different games.

The Angels completed their annual, Spring Training toy drive, raising $5,000 to purchase toys that will be donated to Children’s First Academy. Sherman Johnson was in charge of collecting money and purchasing the toys this year.

Angels starter C.J. Wilson has been scratched from his scheduled Thursday start against the Cubs after tweaking his left knee during pitchers’ fielding practice a couple days ago, Mike Scioscia said. Sean Newcomb, the 21-year-old left-hander who was drafted 15th overall last June, will start in his place.

Wilson didn’t take part in agility drills with his teammates Wednesday morning, but did play catch.

Scioscia said Wilson is “fine; we just want to give him a couple days to get over it.” The Angels’ manager isn’t concerned about this holding him back in spring.

“I think [pitching coach Mike Butcher] has a flexible program of where these guys need to be and they start early enough to where you can absorb a little bump like this,” Scioscia said. “We can even push him back a full five days and he’ll be OK.”

Here’s Wednesday’s lineup against the D-backs, which is their first time facing a lefty starter (Robbie Ray) this spring …

This could very well be the Angels’ lineup against lefties, particularly with Freese at the cleanup spot and Joyce moved down to seventh. Scioscia said he’d like to get righties Cowgill and C.J. Cron at-bats against lefties, so Joyce could sit against some tough lefties. It’ll be up to him. His playing time against lefties could hinge largely on how he handles them this spring. “We’ll see how Matty handles it,” Scioscia said. “When he’s going well, you don’t want to take him out just because there’s two lefties in a row. You don’t want him sitting down for two days.”

Closer Huston Street is not with the team today. He started feeling really sick right before game time on Tuesday, was scratched from his scheduled appearance and stayed back Wednesday, recovering.

Setup man Joe Smith has yet to appear in his first game because of some “lower leg stiffness.” He was slated to throw a bullpen session on Thursday and should pitch in the next three to four days, Scioscia said.

Angels outfielder Matt Joyce took the last couple of days off due to stiffness in his right side but expects to be back in the lineup on Tuesday, when the Angels host the Rangers at Tempe Diablo Stadium.

Joyce took some swings on Monday morning and said he feels “great.” The 30-year-old left-handed hitter felt soreness from swinging the bat on Saturday and the Angels told him to take a couple of days off as a precaution.

“I guess it’s just one of those things — it’s early, and every time you deal with your side, there’s a chance of having the oblique involved,” Joyce said. “They really want to be cautious. I’m not worried about it.”

A lot of starters are playing in back-to-back games for the second time this spring, and traveling all the way to Goodyear to do it …

Nick Tropeano will also pitch, which officially makes this the start of what should be a fun competition between Tropeano and Heaney for a rotation spot. With Garrett Richards slated to start the season on the disabled list and Hector Santiago having far more experience, it could very well come down to these two.

Richards is slated to do some more pitchers’ fielding practice on Monday morning, which involves covering first base and basically simulating the play that led to a ruptured left patellar tendon on Aug. 20. Richards will throw to hitters for the second time on Tuesday and looks to be on track for Cactus League games by early next week. Mike Scioscia said he’s doing the PFP drills “as hard as he can.” “He really showed no favoring of his gait,” Scioscia said. “Right now there’s a conditioning component he needs, but he’s doing fine.”

The Angels expect Cuban infielder Roberto Baldoquin to report for Spring Training at some point this week. Baldoquin has been delayed by visa issues in the Dominican Republic. He was slated to spend the spring in Minor League camp, which recently began, but Angels coaches were looking forward to having him on the Major League side for drills earlier in camp.

When Cesar Ramos was acquired in early November, the Angels made him one promise and only one promise: “You’ll pitch.” It was a refreshing sentiment for the 30-year-old left-hander who frequently went 15 days without pitching in Tampa Bay. Angels manager Mike Scioscia said “his best role is to match up against a lefty. He spins the ball wall, but he can give you long or multi-innings if you have to.” Ramos has never really been used as a lefty specialist. He has a four-pitch mix, but could shorten that if he’s pitching to only one or two batters a game. Scioscia said the Angels “need enough length in our staff” in order to free Ramos up to be a lefty specialist. The presence of Cory Rasmus could accomplish that.

Matt Harvey made his first post-Tommy John surgery start for the Mets on Friday, and Tyler Skaggs — in the early part of his own recovery from TJ — is monitoring his progress, as well as Jose Fernandez‘s. “I want to see how they do,” Skaggs said. “I would think that I’ll come back stronger, better. I want to see if these guys are going to do that.”

Andrew Heaney and Nick Tropeano will both pitch in Monday’s game, with Heaney likely starting. After that it’ll go to Hector Santiago once again. C.J. Wilson and Matt Shoemaker go Saturday and Sunday, respectively.

Asked if his first lineup of Cactus League play will be the same as his Opening Day lineup, Angels manager Mike Scioscia just laughed. But it sure is possible, perhaps likely (except Jered Weaver would be starting, of course).

Hector Santiago will start the Angels’ Cactus League opener against the Brewers on Thursday, Mike Scioscia announced. Following him, respectively, will be Jered Weaver, C.J. Wilson and Matt Shoemaker, which means that in all likelihood, Weaver-Wilson-Shoemaker will be the rotation order for the season-opening three-game series in Seattle April 6-8.

The Angels don’t necessarily order their starting pitchers based on righty or lefty; they like to make sure they don’t connect the guys who have the best chance of pitching deep in games, which is perhaps why Weaver and Shoemaker aren’t back-to-back.

Santiago will compete with Nick Tropeano and Andrew Heaney for a rotation spot, and there’s a good chance two of the three crack the Opening Day roster with Garrett Richards likely to start the season on the disabled list. Cory Rasmus, Drew Rucinski, Jose Alvarez and the non-roster invitees are dark-horse candidates to crack the rotation, as well.

Scioscia said he expects all of his everyday guys — namely, Mike Trout, Albert Pujols, Erick Aybar, Kole Calhoun, David Freese, Chris Iannetta and Matt Joyce — to play in the Cactus League opener from Tempe Diablo Stadium. Starters will go two to three innings the first time through the order.

Weaver would be on track to make five Cactus League starts, then be on five days’ rest before Opening Day, though he could opt for the extra day of rest earlier so that he’s on a normal schedule for his first start of the season. Scioscia doesn’t like to announce his Opening Day starter until the very end, but Weaver is on track to start his franchise-record seventh Opening Day (and sixth in a row).

Some other notes from Wednesday’s workout …

Tony Clark, executive director of the MLBPA, couldn’t comment on the Josh Hamilton situation because it’s an ongoing process and doesn’t know when Major League Baseball would announce what looks like a likely suspension. Clark did say, “What I hope for is support for Josh.”

The MLBPA was visiting Angels camp as its last stop in Arizona, and the two main topics of discussion were pace-of-play initiatives and a reported tobacco ban in California. Hamilton didn’t come up during the one-hour meeting, Clark said.

Richards is throwing his sixth bullpen session on Wednesday morning and Scioscia said he’ll simulate coming off the mound to cover first base for the first time.

Lefty reliever Atahualpa Severino has finally arrived in camp after having visa issues in the Dominican Republic. Cuban middle infielder Roberto Baldoquin could report over the weekend.

Eight weeks from Wednesday, which is when the surgery will take place in Texas, is April 1, still five days before Opening Day. But Jerry Dipoto called a return by Opening Day “a little aggressive.” In all likelihood, Hamilton will start the season on the disabled list and the Angels will hope to have him back at some point before the end of April.

Until then, a lineup that is already without Howie Kendrick – the man who filled in for Hamilton at the cleanup spot down the stretch last season — will try to carry on without him. Dipoto said the Angels will not be looking for outside help to fill his absence.

So, here’s my guess on how the Angels will stack up against righties in the meantime …

Some additional things to keep in mind about Hamilton’s latest setback …

The Angels were looking at moving Trout to the No. 3 spot full time this year, with Joyce looking like an ideal candidate to bat second. But with the left-handed-hitting Hamilton out, the Angels may opt not to bat two left-handed-hitters, Calhoun and Joyce, back-to-back. They may prefer to spread them out and bat Joyce in the middle of the order, which would keep Trout in the No. 2 spot temporarily.

Though it wasn’t the main reason he was hired, the Angels were hoping that Hamilton could benefit from being around his old accountability partner, Johnny Narron, during Spring Training. But by the time Hamilton gets into baseball activities, Narron may be working with the Minor Leaguers, getting ready to be the hitting coach for the Triple-A Salt Lake Bees.

What kind of impact can surgery have on Hamilton? One glaring positive and one glaring negative stick out. The torque of Hamilton’s left-handed swing led to arthritis in his shoulder in the first place, and a surgery like this — minimal as it may seem — could sap his power, in much of the same way right thumb surgery seemed to early in the season. On the positive side, Hamilton’s ailments in his right rib cage and upper back throughout September stemmed from aggravating his AC joint while fielding a liner off the wall on Sept. 4. Getting the shoulder taken care of may fix all of that.

The Angels trotted out basically the same lineup they fielded down the stretch for Game 1 of the American League Division Series on Thursday, with a couple of notable, expected tweaks: Josh Hamilton batting seventh and playing left field, and C.J. Cron batting eighth while serving as the designated hitter.

Hamilton played in only one of the team’s last 23 regular-season games due to ailments in his right shoulder and right side and has hardly seen any live pitching in the meantime, so Angels manager Mike Scioscia is batting him lower in the lineup to put less pressure on him. Scioscia also went with the right-handed bat of Cron against Royals starter Jason Vargas, a lefty who held opposing lefties to a .661 OPS during the regular season.

Howie Kendrick has been red hot since taking over for Hamilton in the cleanup spot on Sept. 5, batting .403 with 18 RBIs over that 21-game stretch. David Freese, batting fifth, finished September with a .315/.367/.562 slash line. Scioscia opted to go with Chris Iannetta’s high on-base percentage (.373) in hopes of turning the lineup over to Kole Calhoun and Mike Trout.

The Angels’ regular season ended on Sunday, and now all that stands before the postseason are an off day and a couple of mandatory workouts from Angel Stadium. Rosters are due by Thursday morning, and before then, Matt Shoemaker (left oblique) is expected to get off a mound at least one more time and Josh Hamilton (right chest/ribcage) will have to see some velocity (latest here). Before all the ALDS madness ensues, let’s take a numerical look back at the 162-game grind. And before we get into the objective, here’s a little bit of the subjective …

Trout looks like almost a lock to nab the AL MVP Award, but Shoemaker probably doesn’t stand a chance to win AL Rookie of the Year over Jose Abreu. I can’t really think of a better candidate for Comeback Player of the Year than Pujols, and there’s a good chance Dipoto or Scioscia — not both — win their respective awards. I’d lean towards Dipoto, since Buck Showalter seems to be a popular pick for top AL manager (keep in mind there’s only one Executive of the Year Award, not one per league). Of the Gold Glove list, Pujols seems like the most likely to get one. Aybar had a great year at shortstop, but so did J.J. Hardy and Alexei Ramirez. Trout is a lock for his third straight Silver Slugger. Street has had a great year, but he split it within two leagues, so he’s a long shot for the Rolaids Relief Man Award.

Second time in club history that they finish the regular season with the best record and lock up home-field advantage throughout the postseason (also 2008).

98 wins is the third-most in club history, two shy of the club record set in ’08.

The Angels went an entire season without being shutout on the road.

Angels drew 3 million fans at home for the 12th consecutive season, a streak only matched in the AL by the Yankees. Their average attendance (38,221) was the highest since 2011.

Pujols led the Majors with 33 go-ahead RBIs, finishing one shy of the club record (34, by Vladimir Guerrero in ’06).

Trout became just the second RBI champion in team history (also Don Baylor, with 139 during his MVP season in 1979).

Trout is the first player in Major League history to lead either league in runs scored in his first three full seasons (115 in 2014). The last player to do that at any age was Mickey Mantle (1956-58).

Since 2011, Street has converted 126 of 136 save opportunities (93 percent), which is the best mark over that span (minimum: 50 innings).

Pujols is the 16th player with 2,500 hits, 1,500 runs and 500 homers, all marks he accomplished this season. The only others to do it by their age-34 season are Jimmie Foxx, Hank Aaron and Alex Rodriguez.

Trout is the first player since 1901 with 100 career steals and 90-plus career homers by his age-22-or-younger season.

All eight of the Angels’ everyday position players finished with an OPS+ over 100. Only the 1973 Orioles, ’09 Angels and ’13 Red Sox had more.

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